Ms ELLIS (1:45 PM) —On Saturday evening I had the pleasure of attending a function at the Tuggeranong Valley Vikings Club in my electorate. The reason I would like to talk about this today is that that dinner on Saturday night marked quite a remarkable achievement. It saw the 20th annual presentation of sports awards made by the club to the local community through their 55 affiliated sporting and social clubs. Through those clubs in the Tuggeranong area in my electorate, 5,800 junior and 4,000 senior athletes, in 600 teams, participate in the sporting community.

On the same night the club also gave out sporting scholarships. These have been running for 17 years and have totalled over half a million dollars in assistance to 370 young local athletes over that time. Each year the club gives out these scholarships, which amount to $1,000 per university student and $500 per college student, with the aim of assisting them in their chosen sport whilst they continue their college and tertiary studies. In both cases this is a very good and clear demonstration of a local licensed club—the Tuggeranong Valley Vikings Club—being very much involved in its local community and in supporting younger people. I commend its actions.